The Gershwin Songbook

Love her voice but 3hrs of anything is too much in one go

Enjoyed what I listened to of this

Listen to most of the songs fully, and the ones I didnt like halfway. I like American songbook in rom coms and christmas films, not in 3 hour long albums.

Nice voice but way too long. Never listening to this for half a work day.

Really good, but too fuckin long... prob managed about half of it but was enjoyable

Listened to the first half of this, and it was good. But , 3+ hours? Wise up ffs

Couldn't take it. Korny old tunes

Good album. I didn't hate roughly 3 hours of classic Gershwin songbook music. It's relatively easy listening, and Ella Fitzgerald is dynamite. It has it's time and place. ***

Who ever thought that we needed to listen to a 6 part box set of Gershwin numbers? No thanks.

Das ist Musik vom Feinsten. Tolle Stimme, tolle Interpretationen, toller Komponist, in jeder Hinsicht ein Meilenstein. Ella Fitzgerald ist einfach die Größte.

Magnificent. Wonderful songs, beautifully sung, splendid lyrics, fantastic melodies, great arrangements - so many delightful details of oboes or clarinets or percussion at just the right moment putting the cherry on top. Three hours of glorious music - makes up for having to sit through the fussy prog rock of Jethro Tull yesterday!

Love me some Ella but just not a fan of the Gershins.

Fav: But Not For Me Least Fav: Looking For A Boy

Timeless? Yes. Bloody lengthy? Very much so. Do two sort of cancel each other out? I have pretty mixed feelings.

Not created to be an album Unlistenable in digital, must be incredible in live at a pub

Can’t believe this album is 74 years old this year. Woah

Not for me

Für das Alter wirklich großartige Musik. Toll gesungen, gut arrangiert. 4/5

A very lovely set of songs. Quite long though. It ended up being background music while I did other things. I did very much enjoy this album.

Her voice will always be one of the most clear, full, and heartfelt in the time of big band music. So many people tried to copy her but there is only one. A lot of her lyrics make a great effort at turning big feelings or problems into funny little small things and laughing off your trouble.

I put this on as background music unlike the other albums so far. It was beautiful, it was sometimes fun, EF's voice is amazing. I do have a limited attention span for Gershwin though.

LIstened to 1/3d. Beautiful voice but too much too tackle in one sitting

One thing I love about this project is the fact that it's challenging my preconceptions. I've never been keen on Ella Fitzgerald - especially her scat singing, which I find particularly irritating. But her treatment of this material is impeccable (one track with scat only!), and highlights the exceptional writing of the Gershwins. Yes, I listened to all 3hrs 15 mins (over a couple of days) and enjoyed almost all of it. I think that merits a five.

Felt very tempted to start tap dancing in the middle of the street. Only listened up to disc 4. The band carried several songs and the lyrics became formulaic rather quickly. I liked the disc 1 the best

it's Ella

Did I have to listen to what may be the entire songbook? Fiztgerald's voice is stunning and the arrangements of the songs are tasteful but did it need to be *this* long? Also, can I blame her for all of the awful "Classic American Song Book" albums that artists who are over 70 or faded boy band members constantly pump out? This album has raised far too many questions. Best Tracks: Best Tracks: But Not For Me; Someone To Watch Over Me; Love Is Here To Stay

Who isn’t familiar with Ella? Remaining a “timeless” artist is impressive in its own right…but not normally my cup of tea. I claim to have a broad taste in music, so worked to go into this with an open mind. On this album, the backing band and Gershwins also star, but Ella definitely shines through. Who else could sing it like her? I just don’t particularly like some of these songs.

I absolutely love this. The songs are beautiful and Ella Fitzgerald's voice is as smooth as honey. I wouldn't be able to understand anyone who can't at least appreciate this album, it may not be your 'thing' but it is undoubtedly one of the best I've listened to so far.

Well, I'm happy to get this album out of the way early. I didn't listen to the whole thing because I don't have 3 hours today -- listening to 3 hours of one artist in a sitting is a lot for me, even if it's my favorite band. I really appreciate Ella Fitzgerald and, although I don't have a great ear for Jazz, I like that I had the chance to learn more about her art. However, my one complaint is that this album is included at all in this list. It's a longer collection project moreso than an album, as Ella was creating her own rendition of an already existing songbook.

great for the genre, not my favorite genre

6 albums! Nope. It is not in the spirit of this exercise. I refuse to listen. 3 hours and 15 minutes = 1.

When you play this the spirit of Nora Ephron appears and conjures a screenplay starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan before your very eyes. She’s incomparable with any contemporary artists, but this is a lot of music.

Erm.... Were we meant to listen to all 3 hours? I got to 2 hours, and thought I'd extracted everything I could. Very nice voice, well crafted comfy songs... could not do three hours. If reviewed as a brief album, I'd probably say "yeah brilliant!" but it outstayed its welcome by the second "disc"... Tricky to rate, as that was kind of the point of a box set, and it's a great archive of american songbook stuff too, amazing voice etc... something historical more than something to enjoy for me. Nutritional.

Day 32 of listening to 1001 albums, one album at a time. I have to be honest I didn’t listen to the full version. I truly don’t think you should either. Don’t get me wrong you can, Ella Fitzgerald is probably one the greatest singers of the 50s. However I chose to listen to the Very Best of The Gershwin Songbook which I think condenses it and a pretty nice 50 minutes long album giving only the greatest of Fitzgerald. The Gershwin Songbook is a great album and Fitzgerald not only inspired so many other singers to come but also set the tone for the 50s with all she did in this album. If I could use an album to describe a time period it would be this album. Personally I think it’s fine if you choose to listen to the whole album, the very best or parts of the whole album. I don’t think Fitzgerald ever really intended someone to listen to whole thing in one sitting. So I think for a 70 very old album it’s still is so fantastic.

7.5/10

Ella was and is such an amazing vocalist. This captures her doing some classic songs from the American songbook.

So classy. I love her.

Didn't listen to the whole thing, too many discs

good

Too long

the tomato song was fun, but this is not my vibe

How many reviewers among those who gave a 4/5 or 5/5 mark to this release listened to the latter until the instrumental pieces conducted by Nelson Riddle on disc 6? Yes, disc *6*! Pretty sure there's not many of them. Technically, *The Gershwin Project* is not a compilation, contrary to what some complainers on this app grumbled about. It's a discrete project assembling recordings made for a year that were all designed for this "anthology" boxset. The thing is, the complainers might still have a point here: can you consider this mammoth project as an "album"? I mean, really? Isn't the length of the whole thing jeopardizing its inclusion in the list? Sacharine jazz ballads and big band shenanigans for the livelier cuts are the two mandatory modes explored in this gargantuan set of records making the best of its orchestral personel. The good news is that, for the first two discs at least, there's enough variety and invention infused into the songwriting and performances to make far less repetitive than expected. A stellar string of key staple songs on the first side of the first record also nicely propels the whole shebang: the languid "But Not For Me", the dreamy "The One And Only", "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" and its iconic "tom-EI-to" / "To-MAH-to" routine, that most listeners already know, "Beginner's Luck", "Oh Lady Be Good", " Nice Work If You Can Get It"... On disc 2, the impressive "The Man I Love" ups the ante, and takes the symphonic /orchestral proceedings a notch further, from the impressionistic, Debussy-indebted introduction to its epic climax at the end--all enhanced by so many intense chord changes. George Gershwin was undoubtedly a master when it came to mixing jazz and classical vocabularies. And elsewhere on that second disc, the witty lyrics of his brother Ira also provide many memorable moments, as in "By Strauss", "They All Laughed", "My Cousin In Milwaukee", or "Somebody From Somewhere". So when the genius of the two brothers work in perfect unison, as in the third disc's "A Foggy Day" (also an iconic cut), you have the best of what this "songbook" can offer you. The problem is that it's a near-impossible task to digest those five or six discs in one sitting, as imaginative as the Gershwin brothers are in that admittedly "restricted" and "retro" genre. After a while, all the sophisticated arrangements and cutesy turns-of-phrases tend to blur into each other. And so do the tunes. What's really at fault here is the all-encompassing presentation: what should churn out musical sparks come off as all-too "calculated", as if George and Ira were some sort of maths geniuses applying formulas to create all those similar-sounding tracks, somehow ruining their potential emotions (hence the pretentious use of French "high art" for the album cover?). It's too much in one single serving. To the point that you might find the relish a little too sickening. What's left in your memories is Ella Fitzgerald's perfect voice, the sweet inflexions of the vocal performance--its crooning, the winks, the sheer emotion and the whimsical feeling said performance conveys depending on the tune. She's hilarious in " Let's Call The Whole Thing Off", vulnerable in the ballads, and sensual in the sexier cuts. But even someone like Ella can't bring the dynamics this overlong tracklist needs. Except for some hardcore jazz / classical fans, this boxset might therefore be useful only to play some unobtrusive soundtrack on a sunday afternoon--with many, *many* cuts that will never force your attention towards them. Moody for sure. But "essential"? So shall we "call the whole thing off" or "call the calling off off" ? The jury's still out on this one. To be fair I didn't have the time to listen to the fourth and fifth discs, which is a shame since that means that if hidden gems are hidden there, I couldn't listen to them. Just like a lot of people in here, I will give a "good grade" for the overall presentation and talents involved, and then move on to another thing. Wish there was an Ella Fitzgerald album that is a middle ground between the grand yet flawed ambitions of this project and, say, the succint, straightforward and streamlined-to-a-fault "Ella and Louis (Armstrong)" records. Maybe there is one. But this list here has yet to provide its name for me. Number of albums left to review: 158 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 364 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 213 (including this one) Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 269

Beautiful voice, beautiful lyrics, and beautiful music....but way way way too much... Halfway through the second disc, I just zoned it all out and it became department store background noise. Certain songs would bring me back slightly (They All Laughed, I Got Rhythm) because of Fitzgerald's voice, not the composers. But it just all started to blend together and turn it into an experience I just wanted to end. This is made for someone that either eats and breathes Fitzgerald or Gershwin, for me as a casual listener it made me actually like it less the longer it went, which is a travesty since her voice is so amazing! I honestly don't know if I like any band or composer that I would want to listen to 6 albums of their music in a row without some variety mixed in. And maybe that is part of the problem, Gershwin doesn't write enough variety in their music, it all starts to sound the same over and over.

I really enjoy Ella Fitzgerald, and this was a very lovely listening experience. She’s pretty awesome. Total Sunday morning soundtrack. In the context of this project and my general attention span however, it’s soooo long. I listened to the whole thing, but it started to feel like a slog. Some really great songs on here though!

I am not doing all that. From what I listened to, it’s fine.

Wow, what an album. Ella Fitzgerald has long been considered the pinnacle of jazz vocals, and for good reason. This is just absolutely fantastic. Every track is great, with great arrangements by the Gershwins. Just a great album.

Yes the album is long, but it’s incredibly listenable. In fact, I split up my listening over 2 days. The day after I got this album, I had to listen to Leonard Cohen. Returning to this was a breath of fresh air. That said, a lot of the songs have similar sounds and themes. There is certainly room to filter some songs out here. Additionally, I’m docking a point for the song about being a little girl looking for her little boy. Yuck. Why do 50s and 60s albums seem to love the little boy/little girl lyric??

Some great songs but not sure I’ll listen to it again lovely songs for background music but too long - did not make it through the whole thing.

Very dated. Did not hold up well.

I like this album for the collection of vocal jazz classics that it is, but it's really not music I'll ever be super excited about. And 3 hours of Ella Fitzgerald is way more than I ever want to listen to at once. Nothing on it that I disliked though, so it's a pretty even 3/5 for me.

Damn, dude. That's so much. I got through it though, and Ella is lovely. I might rate any individual one higher, but 3h 15m of music is too much. 3/5

Her voice is beautiful but this is just not my thing. It was sooo looong, this took me forever to get through and it was grueling.

Ella Fitzgerald has a beautiful voice, and I like a lot of these songs But over 3 hours is way too long of an album, and I started feeling bored. Honestly it was feeling like a chore towards the end So for that reason its a 3 ⭐️

that's a lot of goddamn songs. it doesn't show its age, still sounds good today.

Sorry, but I don't want to spend 3hrs 15mins listening to show tunes, even if they are sung by Ella. Moving on with my life.

I absolutely love Ella Fitzgerald, but 59 songs is a big ask! How could I ever give this less than 5 stars though? Not gonna happen.

I like Ella a lot. This album is just really long. The kind of thing I might put on for a dinner party or something. But not to sit down and listen to. Im sorry ella :(

I found a much shorter compilation album on Apple Music. I don't want to listen to 3+ hours of this, but Ella's voice is just delightful. Timeless, and a wonderful listen.

Good, not my vibe.

4 stars

Great artist, great voice but a 3-hour compilation is beyond nonsense. She also sings better songs that aren't in this compilation

one of the many funny artifacts of trying to fit popular music history into an album-loyalist box. This isn't an album to listen to. It's an archive. Listen to a few at a time on shuffle. Have your high school big band check out the Ella Fitzgerald version when you're working on an arrangement. each song individually: probably 3 stars. album all in a row: negative 3 stars. albums: hated. (⌐■_■)

I like to listen to Ella Fitzgerald sing, but apparently not so much that I want to listen to her sing three and a quarter hours of American Standards ™️. I know it’s dismissive, maybe kind of anti-American, but in my mind, 75% of Gershwin songs I’ve ever heard might as well be different versions of Chattanooga Choo Choo.

There a certain level of class involved with making this type of music, that just emanates through the speakers. Back when only professionals had the ability to make music. Now anyone can do it, and that's not a bad thing, but we have lost this type of music forever. A starlet sings the tunes of the great composers. Little Ella is magnificent!!

okay this album is over 3 hours long. I obviously did not listen to all of this. I only played the songs that had over 1 million listens. With that said, those songs were solid. Ella does this style very well. Definitely would need to be in a certain mood to give this a listen.

Beautiful music. Far too many songs to try and enjoy in a short period.

prima leuk wel erg lang

Lang man Wel nice

I love Ella Fitzgerald as much of the next person but this is entirely too much to sit through

The album (in every release) is much and much too long. Then again Ella Fitzgerald is much too great a singer give anything else than five stars.

pleasant but struggles to hold attention as its multi-hour runtime begins to blur. Still good vibes though

You got me fucked up if you think im gonna listen to 3.5 hours of ella fitzgerald. Great voice but shittt this sounds too old and dry for me.

Nice collection of songs

4.0

I couldn't bring myself to listen to all 3 hours of this 6 disc(!) set. I listened to the first 2 discs and enjoyed what I heard but 6 discs is just too many for 1 sitting and honestly after 2 discs I get the point.

Lots and lots and lots (3+ hours worth) of lovely songs by Ella. Wow this Gershwin guy was prolific

lol I’m not listening to all of that

I sat... through three hours of this. I really should've heeded my group partners with this and just did the 45 minute condensed version instead because this was genuinely one of the biggest slogs I had to get through. I respect the work that went into it but around track five a lot of the songs started to run together. For context, this album is nearly 60 TRACKS. If you really, and I have to emphasize, REALLY want smooth vocal jazz and need something to kill three hours, this will work perfectly. If you're normal, however, you probably wouldn't.

Until today, I've had this running joke with my group that only I've told that we weren't going to get an album longer than 69 LOVE SONGS. As far as I knew, that was the longest album in the book, standing at 172 minutes. It was gonna be the closest we ever got to three hours. After all, I knew the 1001 ALBUMS book didn't have mega-epic, 250-plus-minute box sets like AMERICAN ANTHOLOGY OF FOLK MUSIC or James Brown's STAR TIME, so once we got that we'd be in the clear. Then today happened. We got this album. And my jaw dropped a little. Look, let's make this clear: I don't have a problem with Ella Fitzgerald's voice. She's a lovely voice, beautiful. 100% deserved the shout out she got in Stevie Wonder's "Sir Duke". I don't have a problem with George and Ira Gershwin. Or the Great American Songbook for that matter, or jazz standards in general. I still occasionally spin Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga's CHEEK TO CHEEK album, and I really love "Anything Goes", the title track and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love". I don't even have a problem with the arrangements. I like myself a fair bit of vocal jazz and traditional pop every once in a while. Look at how much I liked the Frank Sinatra album my group got—and again, there's CHEEK TO CHEEK. My problem with this album, simply and solely, lies in its crushing length: **THREE HOURS AND FOURTEEN MINUTES**. That's longer than Prince's EMANCIPATION. I have no idea why they decided to record so many of these things except that they could. And truthfully, from the moment I saw its length, I knew I wasn't gonna bother listening to the whole thing. And I didn'! I heard from "Sam & Delilah" to "The Real American Folk Song (Is A Rag)", and then after that I just listened to a 40-some minute compilation from 2007. 'Cuz seriously, even listening to only the first hour of this got a bit excruciating. I don't hate this sound, but there **can** be too much of a good thing. Like, by the time I got to "Just Another Rhumba" and I heard "September" pronounced as "Septumba," I really wanted to just stop. I'd more than had my fill of Ella siiiiiiingiiiiing mooost of the sooooooongs like thiiiiiiiiiis. But there was still twenty minutes left, so—! One of the people actually did manage to sit through the whole thing. I can't begin to fathom how they did it. As I'm writing this, it's hours before we can share our reviews, so I don't know what they think of this, but I can imagine they're all too positive about the length either. Even beyond its length not every song on here is a winner. Like, some of them hafta be obscure for a reason, y'know? Again, I point to "Just Another Rhumba". Or the one that I read has the damn 20th Century fanfare. Or they're just plain indistinguishable from each other and blend together. Even on the 2007 "very best of" compilation they kind of do, but at least there there's only 12 songs and not **a billion**. And that's **still** the best way to listen to this material. Of course, by all means, if you wanna go digging through this set to find your own "very best of," be my guest. (Hell, I know I'm probably gonna do the same thing whenever I **do** get around to Prince's EMANCIPATION.) Or if you've already done it—good for you! I'm glad you were able to discover something in there that I didn't, seriously. For my money, however, I just don't have the time or patience. Ella's voice is generally too good to give this any less than a three, but believe me—I could. At least now I no longer fear 69 LOVE SONGS as much as I did before. Hell, I'll embrace it, even! The sweet, sweet feel of **SLIGHTLY UNDER** three hours. Oh, it'll be so nice.

This is one of those albums that you know shouldn't have listened to in one session. But I did it anyway, and now I regret it a little. But anyways, this is mostly just your standard vocal jazz act from the 50s but stretched out over way longer of a runtime. At least I liked The Real American Folk Song, though.

I’m at a 3.5 that I'll rather kindly bump up to a 4. Let me just be clear: no chance in hell I was gonna listen to the whole thing; I listened to a “best of” version that was only 45 minutes, and I get the distinct feeling that if I had listened to the whole thing, then… I dunno, who knows, maybe I’d somehow get to a 5. From what I heard, this is super nice though. The orchestra does a great job of bringing these pieces to life, and I’m sure Ira Gershwin had a big say in the way all of these were recorded. Ella Fitzgerald… I’ve never heard her voice before today, for whatever reason. My goodness, what a voice. I don’t know how many more albums she has in these 1,001, but I hope it’s enough to hear more of her, and more of her doing contemporary music instead of more 1920s and 1930s standards. Seriously, she kind of carries this album, but she shares it pretty equally with the instrumentation as well – I’m such a sucker for this sort of era because it really does feel long gone, even if these compositions have a timeless feel. Yes, there are cheesy lyrics on this album, and yes, some of these songs have lulls here and there, but I just really enjoyed listening to… you know, 45 minutes of what’s a roughly 3 hour album, but I digress. It’s pretty damn good; it’s nowhere near a 5 for me, but it’s enough of a spectacle and a window into the past that I can’t help but appreciate it. I’m good with a 4, and I think it’s worth being on the list.

3.8/5. listened 1x. great album but quite long (3h+)

Ładne, ale o jakieś 2,5 h zbyt długie. Przez to wszystko brzmi tak samo i potem zlewa się w bezkształtną masę. 3/5

The Queen stands above all.

Not for me. Old school, diner style live music performer vibes.

grande pra caralho, n vou ouvir n

59 songs, 3 hours and 15 minutes... Yikes! Thankfully I got this on a Friday, I listened to the first 3 discs, and I think I get it. Most of the songs could be sang over the same music, but the lyrics are mostly fun and light. She has a wonderful voice, the music is mostly repetitive. This is peak lounge music in my eyes. I enjoyed it in that context. 3.5/5

It's good, it's pretty, it's a time capsule, but it's SO long. Felt like sitting down on a saturday to watch every single Star Wars movie without stopping. Even if a few are bangers it's still an insane amount of time.

Absolute marathon. This was really enjoyable to listen to. It is kinda cheating though because it’s more of a compilation than an album. Also the length means I likely won’t listen to the whole thing again.

that run time though

Look. I ain't listening to all that. But its Ella Fitzgerald so even if I didn't listen to it it deserves a 3 as a minimum.

Closer to a 2. Objectively well-recorded and well-performed music...but be cautious of the run-time

Five discs. I couldn't do it.

That key year 1959. Ella is like Hendrix, like Dylan, like Bird. Greatness themselves but too many inferior copies dilute. But here, with two of the figures (well three) that make up what was great about American 20th century music - the gershwin’s and Nelson freaking riddle - we see magic.

I hereby thank the stupdi list for reminding me of a) the joy of my favourite singer. b) the reason we have physical albums is as a reminder: to pick them up and say "oh yeah" which streaming doesnt do... even the algo doesnt know I love her more than Nina, somehow. I mean, IYDKMBN... Her voice sooth and smiles swings and cajoles like no other. and then add great material and you have essential listening. A similar Verve late 1990s Ella Fitzgerland 4-disc booklet release was one of my first ever purchases and often played - and I I thought knew her range, but this 4 album collection filled my weekend with new lsitening and much raunchier content that I knew from "the First Lady of Jazz". [Side note that a whole songbook retropective project doesnt quality as an album as much as massive showcase. But Ella deserves the space given!] Yes.. this project shows her (she makes great material shine) but... I detected a lot less of her famous improv (or "scatting" in this collection), but the alternate takes available of one song at least, demonstrates how she can change and lead the style of a song so flexibly - such is mastery and talet combined... This is an easy 5 - its such gold (I cant remember if there are any Louis Armstrong duets - but the "call the whole thing off" version with him is the playful riotous best - seek out the albums "Ella & Louis" and "Ella & Louis again" for that :-), An album I will put on my Christmas list, as, alas/hurrah , 80% of the material was new for me, a long time fan. so yes, I will be lsitening to this one soem more. A lot more. Thsi is a 5+ from me. Its not possible to share in words the comfort, the joy this music brings.

I saw her at the Sydney Opera House in November 1978. She was 61 years old and I remember thinking that she sounded like a teenager. Her voice sounded so young. She was still a big woman ( she shrunk considerably before she died in 1996, aged 79) but she wore a full skirt, about knee-length, and she was fabulous. As for the Gershwins - George was a genius & Ira would have to be one of the 2 or 3 greatest lyricists of his generation. The joy of this collection is as much hearing the songs (usually from Broadway shows) that you are not familiar with, as it is hearing the classics - and there are certainly plenty of those here. And by no means are they all the best versions of these songs that I’ve ever heard. But to have 59 Gershwin tunes collected together for Ella to sing, to the arrangements of Nelson Riddle, was a gift to us all. As indeed was the whole idea of The Great American Songbook - the idea of her manager & the founder of Verve Records, Norman Granz. (Just try to forget that Rod Stewart went anywhere near said Songbook). The highlights for me- the slowed-down version of the belter, Lady Be Good; Love Is Here To Stay - one of Ira’s greatest lyrics; They Can’t Take That Away From Me - the tune we played at my mother’s graveside as the casket was lowered, and too many more to list here. A great collection.

Oh Ella, my favourite jazz singer of all time. I would listen to her sing the phone book. This is not the phone book, but a major volume of the great American songbook. A massive project to record a huge number of the Gershwin's greatest output, with beautiful orchestrations that create a lush bed for Ella's incomparable voice. I mean, just listen to "The Man I Love"; it is just so beautiful. Truth be told, I slightly prefer her 1950 Gershwin album (I picked up a reissue copy on vinyl just last week); her voice is a little brighter and the orchestrations a little less cheesy. But this really is a major compendium of some of the greatest popular songs of the 20th century, wonderfully arranged and performed. Absolutely classic, every home should have one.

hade varit en trea om det inte varit 59 låtar eller vad det nu var

Could have been a 4 if it was 10 tracks long.

My grandmother would be proud I made it through. This perfectly encapsulates a particular sound and era. Not sure a full 3+ hours is necessary since a lot of these songs tackle identical topics and sound really similar, but I understand why it's included.

I diligently listened to all 3 hours and 14 minutes of this album. Ella Fitzgerald’s voice is as close to perfect as I’ve ever heard. The songs are warm and nostalgic - my grandma plays this sort of jazz singer music at dinner parties, and I’m sure I’ve heard some of this album in that context. It feels fitting that this popped up on my dad’s birthday, who also loves this genre. This probably deserves 5 stars and I’m being unfair; I’m docking one because some of the lyrics are a little silly (not that it really matters for the kind of music it is), and because I was admittedly a little miffed at the length of the album when the songs were all pretty similar. It’s clearly not intended to be listened to in one sitting like this - like I said, unfair - but that’s what I did. This would be a nice one to have in my personal collection. It’s like the musical version of a security blanket.

Lovely voice and Gershwin is a classic

My One and Only Let’s Call the While Thing Off Beginners Luck I’ve Got A Crush On You I Got Rhythm Ya the music is “good” but I’m honestly supervised I even made it the whole way through. Got bored at parts. Got good at parts. Singing was great the whole way. But three hours of jazz isn’t something I’d suggest to anyone to listen to before they die.

What do you want from me? There are dozens of Ella albums that aren’t on this list that could replace this easily. This is NOT a good album. It is a confusingly long collection of great songs. Ella, go ahead and sing some of the Gershwin songs, BUT 3 HOURS WORTH!!! I suppose I see the appeal. Maybe theater nerds would get excited over this. Don’t get me wrong, Ella kills it on every track, but for there to be that many tracks. Also, why are the last six songs instrumentals by some fucking Nelson Riddle asshole. Bring Ms. Fitzgerald back. For Ella, perfection as always (except for the part where she okayed this length). For the production team, nothing. They get nothing from me. 3/5

I like Ella, but this was a lot, and too much Gershwin for me

Nice and soothing. Good for playing in random shuffle whenever you want some jazz. It is waay too long for a single sitting tho

Brutal lo único que no .e gusta es la portada

Ella good, Gershwin lyrics repetitive and not clever

What a breath of fresh air! The angelic voice of Ella paired with Gershwin’s tunes. I loved being transported back to the time when songs about love and life were sweet and charming. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I felt like I was watching a movie listening to her sing. It reminded me of listening to music with my great grandmother so for that it’s an easy 5 stars.

muy bonito pero dale tanto vas a tener para decir! no tengo mucho tiempo piba!! 8/10

Ella Fitzgerald's voice is incredible, and the instrumentation is incredibly jaunty. The fact that this album is over 3 hours long means that it's impossible to listen to unless it's wholeheartedly relegated to background noise. Thankfully, it makes perfect background noise, and I got plenty of work done with Ella in the background.

Boring

Não é mt legal qnd todas as músicas soam iguais né

very very long but good music

Technically perfect, if not particularly compelling. This is a pretty comprehensive collection for fans of the Gershwins and the Great American Songbook. The collection certainly has a number of gems to be found on it, but there are also so, so many skippable songs. Ultimately it's a lot to take and much of it becomes a blur after 3 hours. Fave Songs: But Not for Me; Someone to Watch Over Me; Let's Call the Whole Thing Off; They Can't Take That Away from Me; Our Love Is Here to Stay; 'S Wonderful; Oh, Lady Be Good!; Embraceable You; I Got Rhythm

Long as hell, but mostly good

3 hours and 15 minutes??? what the actual fuck?

Ella singing classics. What else can be said.

This is an unfair inclusion in a list of albums to listen to before you die because this is a box set. It is a collection of 59 recorded covers of songs by George and Ira Gershwin, done as part of Ella Fitzgerald's ambitious attempt to cover the entire Great American Songbook canon. For my sanity, I listened to The Very Best of the Gershwin Songbook compilation which is 12 tracks for a runtime of 45 minutes. I will say, Ella's delivery and improvisation are remarkable over these well-constructed show tunes. Perhaps this compilation would have been a better inclusion than the 3-hour original box set. Alas, what we get is what we get.

Things Are Looking Up // Love Is Here To Stay // 1.5/5

Ella Fitzgerald is a great singer, and this album is varied enough that it doesn't get too repetitive. This album is VERY long, but the sequencing is good enough that it doesn't feel too bad, especially as background music. The backing band is also very good, and complements her voice well. 3.5

This album is absolutely beautiful. I mean Ella Fitzgerald is a legend and I see why. The music is angelic, soothing and the perfect background music for when you’re doing something mindless. With that being said, 3 hours is a lot of damn music. I’m trying my best to sit through it because luckily I have time today. But damn, after a while it gets monotonous. Update: I finished the entire thing, I think I’ve made my grandparents proud.

Finally did it. That was a slog. It's well crafted, but 3 hours of 60+ year old music isn't fun

pleasant music for a rainy day

Too much. I like Ella Fitzgerald but not for 3 hours and 19 minutes.

love it!

Jeez the 3+ hours was tough. This won't be revisited by me again.

Listen, I love Ella. I'm a swing dancer by training and have listened to her for hundreds of hours, probably thousand+ now. However why did they choose this as her representation? I like Gershwin as well but why choose the over 3 hour long compilation. It is great stuff but couldn't they find a better version like Ella and Basie! which is much shorter (40 minutes) and more coherent? I don't get it... it's fantastic music and I want to rate it 5/5 but it is too damn long and could have been pared down a lot.

This is way, way too long. I literally don't have time to listen to it all. I managed to get halfway through, but honestly I don't think I'm missing anything by not listening to the rest. Ella has a great voice and the music is pleasant, but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to any of this.

Super

Beautiful

unbelievably i managed to listen to this whole record today and it was beautiful. Did i zone out occasionally? yes, but i was tight with the vibe the whole time. I know and appreciate that this was groundbreaking when it was released but it's hard to conceptualize. It is amazing to me how in the year of our lord 2024 i am listening to this and it sounds exactly the way vocal jazz is supposed to sound, but that is how Ella has warped out understanding of vocal jazz.

Ella Fitzgerald is the greatest American vocalist that's ever lived. These recordings are excellent, the finest musicians of the time using incredible analog equipment. This brought back many fond memories of my grandfather and his kick ass stereo.

I'm sure the "great American songbook" is culturally significant for mid-century jazz aficionados, and I can't deny Ella Fitzgerald has a beautiful voice, however the overuse of this type of music in film had me thinking I was stuck in a Christmas rom-com movie while listening on my way to work. A 5 CD compilation is excessive except for the most dedicated fans, I listened to the first one & while there are some great tracks, that was enough for me. Probably good for background music while wrapping Christmas presents or bumping into your high school sweetheart while visiting your small home town over the holidays & getting stranded there by a snowstorm

So much music and it’s all soo good! These are like all the best recordings of these songs. Her voice is so great and the arrangements are really good. I loved “ just another Rhumba”

She is the goat, these are legendary songs and the arrangements are cool

I could listen to this every day for the rest of my life

A ré écouter mais très bien

Going to be honest, I was only able to listen to disc 1 all the way through. I listened to one song each from the other discs and I really don’t think I missed out on much by not listening to it all. I just don’t have 3 hours to spare for that today. Her voice is beautiful no doubt, but it was just a lot of the same.

Listened to the first of the four (five) LPs that comprise this, I think. The Apple Music version did not include the instrumentals at the beginning, but you can find those on a different release if you want to be a completist. Glad to be exposed to this. What Pop was before the rock era, this is definitely a work of art. You can't find fault with Ella Fitzgerald, or the band. Perfect execution and this was the peak of Jazz as a popular music form. A type of literature, music school is still teaching this for sure even though it is really no longer in the pop idiom. Which is a bit disappointing considering the level of talent here. Again, glad to get it on the list. Was meditating on the question of "How would you feel if today was your last" and I was definitely glad I heard this before I died. Good to see this on the list, I think eventually I will play the rest.

So beautiful and classic

Is it long? Absolutely. Do all the songs start to sound the same after a while? ABSOLUTELY. Does Ella Fitzgerald make it still pleasurable???? ABSOLUTELY!

Amazing singer considering the tech of her time.

So good and nothing synthetic here. Even heard 2 tunes I never heard before. Ella was masterful. Gershwin songbook was a reminder of my parents playing music on the Victrolla. The albums all lined up on the circular table rack.

What a treat! Ella singing the Gershwin tunes.

I made it about half way through this. Not listening to all 8 hours. It’s decent, but not spectacular.

It's all great, but it's too much. Favorite song: promenade

Nice sounding songs, no particular highpoints, great for using as background music because it lasts way too long.

Loveeee some classics and this was iconic. This sounds expensive but I could not get through more than 1 disc

I listened to only the first disc, this album is a lot of music! I loved the classic orchestration the big band feel and of course Ella's beautiful voice but definitely need to be in the mood to listen to the whole thing and unfortunately I wasn't this time. One day I will get through it.

2.5

I'm of the firm belief that Ella Fitzgerald has one of the most perfect voices in the history of popular music. It's round, luscious, vibrant, and above all else, warm and welcoming. Her melodic patterns are instantly recognizable and easy to fall into and trace along with. The moments on this album where the backing Big Band breaks through these mixes to lightly contrast Fitzgerald's vocals (like on the song 'I Can't Be Bothered Now') are undeniably visceral. There's subtle variety in the instrumentation here; primarily in the many ways they're used to complement the lead vocals. The Gershwin brothers are notably talented songwriters, with a majority of these songs being charmingly witty and quaint takes on the ideas of hopeless, driven, or contemplative love. There are some truly great moments on this album, like the rhumba and flute-driven musical interlude in the aptly named 'Just Another Rhumba' that eventually transforms into this wall of horns. Or the serene strings driving the slower 'Embraceable You' and a lot of the other slower songs here. I also love the scat singing (something I admittedly wish Ella did more of on this album) on 'I Got Rhythm' which is maybe my favorite song here. The final classical-influenced instrumental disc here elegantly closes this odyssean album. When I listen to these super old albums, they either sound irritatingly antiquated or they successfully take me back to their time. This album undeniably facilitates the latter effect; one that is only amplified by the clean mix that gives each element of this album adequate space to flourish. Considering its length, it's a feat that this much good music exists here (not even considering Fitzgerald covers the entire American Songbook throughout the rest of this saga). It just seem like there's an endless stream of ideas and talent on display on this consistent monster of a vocal jazz record. It's hard to tackle specific songs here but within this giant tracklist, my favorites are 'Let's Call The Whole Thing Off', ‘By Strauss, ‘The Real American Folk Song’, 'Boy Wanted', ‘Of Thee I Sing’, 'Slap That Bass', 'Embraceable You', 'Oh So Nice', and 'I Got Rhythm'.

Non l'ho ascoltato tutto ma il godimento prepotente, 4 a fid

As always, a lovely and wonderful voice. The big band is blastin them trumpets and pairing the essential accoutrements. However, the length here does not present a tidy and digestible foray into the music. We are left with some well written and sung classics, but with too much to offer.

2.75/3 (I listened to the condensed 45 minute version) Ella Fitzgerald's voice is gorgeous and I enjoyed listening to this in the background while working, but I am quickly learning that this era of music is not for me. Standout tracks: The man I love - 4/5 Someone to watch over me 5/5 - preferred her version to Sarah Vaughan's They can't take that away 4/5

An amazing listen. Took three days of bike commutes to get through it; and I got asked what I was playing multiple times.

Low on the ella list

Gershwin songs have always been too gentle and catchy - just not to offend anyone. And by 2024 at the latest, they will have fallen out of time!

Great sound, some fantastic classics in the album.

Not my cuppa tea. Ella has a lovely voice though.

Love her voice of course, I just don’t love show tunes

Waaaaaay too long.

Spotify only has the 4 hour extended cut but they’re good songs. Lots of love songs. Very similar sounding but not unpleasantly

Too long

This is NOT an essential album to listen to in full. It might be the perfect record to play in the background of a dinner party but if you try to really listen to it, it gets really boring after an hour or so. A three hour box set shouldn’t be included in the list no matter how lovely Ella Fitzgeralds voice is. I’ll remember it for my next dinner party though.

Not a big fan of jazz vocals until now. Awesome band behind her.

Ella Fitzgerald’s voice is stunning but I did not have time to listen to 5 albums. Nor do I think it’s necessary to.

Ella can get it going, and some of these songs are timeless. But others are kinda boring in my opinion. I’m glad she made this album, but she’s got more in her collection that will find my speed. She’s one of the best of her era, and in the top 10 female voices of all time.

I was kind of surprised to find that this record didn't start to overstay its welcome of the most part, it was really only the latter half of it did I just sort of lost interest but even so there's plenty of gems to be found on here. Ella's wonderful voice more than manages to elevate these songs alongside the pleasantly surprising variety in the instrumentals and melodies on here, though that is largely thanks to the large catalog of songs that is used on here. Admittedly some of these songs are more mellow than others, and lyrically some of them are kind of cheesy (I mean sometimes they just sort of name drop historical figures as metaphors for the themes of certain songs on here, which I just sort of found a bit amusing), but it is a rather solid listen. Now with all that being said, I don't think I'm ever going back and listening to this whole damn thing again considering its monstrous 3+ hour length. Also I can completely live without the disc with entirely instrumental tracks.

förlåt men jag tänker inte sitta i tre timmar och lyssna, sååå

Fallout jazz, good but feels repetitive ?

Ella - kompletely out of discussion. The album - claims to be an encyclopedia of Gershwins's work. Phantastic, but I think it's well posisinoed in the bookshelf.

Not really my typical style of music but truly an Album You Must Hear Before You Die!

Estas cosas más clásicas se necesita que alguien te guíe para no ir por el mal camino. Qué bien suena incluso con auriculares!!! Hay quejas de que es muy largo, pero al fin y al cabo es un todo, es como quejarse de la obra de un compositor clásico. Merece la pena escucharlo aunque sea en varias sesiones.

What a singer. It sounds like she inhabits every word

Nice listen

Ok, so, I will be honest, this was on in the background whilst doing work. I really went through most emotions, enjoyment, initially to the first disc and a half. Then apathy for the next hour, to finally not being able to wait until it was over. I think overall it was nice, but I couldn’t imagine just listening to this without doing anything else. Torture.

I think this was meant to go along with a play or some type of screenwrite? I dunno I found it really really hard to get through this album. It ground my gears, just didn’t seem like something anyone would listen to outside of its original intent

Yes: nice. No: I did not listen the entire 3 hours of music at once.

Excellent background music for making supper

Gut, aber auch etwas lasch

Classic and beautiful. Just WAY too long to listen the whole way through!

I will do my best to finish this, but Jesus christ 3 hours and 15 mins is insane Update - been listening for ages, only on disc 2. How can you make 3 hours of this. Come on Update 2 - past half way. They All Laughed was the stand out so far. No way do I finish this. I have a life to lead. Yesterday's album was 54 mins and I thought, that's pushing it a bit Just found out this is a boxset and not an album. Take it off the list. I'm giving up soon because some of these tracks and repeats and some are demos What are we doing here.

Amazing. 59 songs from Ella was a delicious treat.

I aint listening to allat

One of the most comforting voices in Jazz brings a great collection of standards delivered with such warm and sweet candor. Great, enjoyable album!

Pretty good

Sorry Ella, I did an hour or so but nobody has more than 3 hours to spend on a 6 disc album. The curator of the book needs a bit of a slap for this one.

Another one for the "glad I listened to it, but won't be going back to it" pile.

Amazing songbook and lovely timeless voice. This album is 3 hours long though. Come on.

Outstanding

Truly the GOAT of swing vocals. 10/10

This was fine, but so so so long. At least it wasn't 3.5 hours of Everything but the Girl or Massive Attack.

Simply incredible.

With all due respect Ms. Fitzgerald, I'm not listening to 3 hours of your music. I'll take the 12 track best of. Very glad I didn't go for the full cut because I was bored with the short one. This is not album music, and more than 1 or 2 tracks of this stuff wears on me quick. I imagine most albums pre-65 will have me feeling this way.

salmonella fitzgerald

Obviamente no voy a estar 3 horas escuchando un álbum pero esta mal acaso reconocer la grandiosidad de cantantes clásicos como Ella Fitzgerald 🤨 @los señores que están en contra de los 5/5, miren le estoy poniendo 4/5 😝

3 hours ffs Wasn’t too bad in the end just had it on as background listening

If you ever said, “Damn, I wish I could hear Ella Fitzgerald sing the phonebook,” then this album is for you! To judge it as a singular body of work like any other album on this list feels deeply unfair, and maybe misses the point. It was always meant to be a “choose your own adventure” from a listener’s point of view where you stick to one LP or one side. I’d even argue it was never meant to be an album for public consumption, and that it was actually meant to be used as evidence of Fitzgerald’s importance within the musical/standards canon. That said, Fitzgerald can really sing a song, and these renditions are really a tight. There really is something for everyone here. Ten people could pull out their favorite 10 songs, and you’d likely have ten different new versions. Ironically, I think that’s why this works best in the context of modern playlists, where you can easily pull out your favorites and leave it at that. So yeah, I don’t love all 59 songs here. No one does. If they claim they do, I’d assume they’re just being pedantic and are afraid to disagree with highbrow-ism. There’s some discs I love, and some I hate, although there’s at least one song on each disc that I adore. Sitting and listening to it straight through is a pain in the ass; rating this as I would another album on this list feels oddly disrespectful, too, and judging it by those standards, sure, I’d give it a 3. But this wouldn’t be a 3 like my other 3s, because I’m not on the fence about whether I think it’s good or enjoyable. It would be a 3 by the standards I’ve set out because I don’t like more than 29 of the 59 songs here, although I do get right to that line. I also won’t revisit this as a single sit-through ever again, so long as I actually finish the challenge this go-around, so that also means it should be a 3. But again, that isn’t the point of this album, and I know that. Oddly, this does achieve my main rule for giving 4 stars – would I buy this on vinyl and actually play it? I 1000% would, and I’d be foolish not to if I found it in the bins. I do think there’s better albums to represent Ella, though, but then you run into questions of whether to also showcase other people at the same time, or just give Ella all the shine. Of the songbooks I’ve listened to before, this is my favorite, and contains 2 of my favorite songs ever (“They All Laughed” and “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off”), and both renditions are my favorite renditions of those tracks. It’s a hard one to judge, because I don’t regret listening to it. I think Ella Fitzgerald is wonderful, I love her renditions, and I like the Gershwin song book, even if it sounds same-y after 3.5 hours, but then again, anything would. At the end of the day, this is extremely good, and essential listening, but once you find the songs you like, you can just revisit those, or listen to this in bite sized pieces. The only real critique I [and most people] have is that it’s exhaustive, and not an album you sit down to listen to like others, but by acknowledging that, I feel better rating this higher as a collection of songs that are all great. But don’t listen to this in single sitting, or you will be annoyed.

You gotta love Ella, personally this album felt long to me.

I guess I got the abridged version at 45 minutes. I probably could have handled 3 hours. Ella Fitzgerald was a treasure.

I listened to a third of this. Over three hours is an excessive ask for music that all sounds very samey. She’s a hell of a singer. The composition is era defining. I don’t need to hear it all in a row. Any song in particular is a four star song, but I’m giving this two stars because unless you love tgis exact sound, this is a shit listen.

At three hours, this is the biggest commitment of any album I've listened to so far. But Ella had a phenomenal voice that's worthy of the three hours. It's good background music for nighttime in the city. I may or may not have danced to "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" in my desk chair.

I’m going to be honest, I just didn’t have time to listen to all 3 hours of this compilation. But what I did hear was truly excellent.

I'd be okay with it being background music in a store while I was running errands, but it's nothing I would ever put on myself.

Hot take; Ella has no soul. Her voice gives off very strong radio ad vibes. I've never understood why her name is mentioned along side Louis Armstong, Billie Holiday or Otis Redding. Did not finish.

Great voice. Long album

I love Ella, and this album is a must listen!

Great voice, production, and direction.Though for some reason, I'm not grabbed by this much. Maybe it requires more listening.

Would listen again. Dont feel I gave it all enough time to sink in and percolate. Was hard to single out one arrangement or song that stood out becaise the production, accompaniment, and vocal techniques are all pretty uniformed across each tune...so without acclimating to it more, it somewhat runs together for me. Still very pleasant and supple tones and attitude.

This album, and the collected sets of Fitzgerald's "songbooks," are canonical in modern popular music. Ella's songbooks are the first, encyclopedic recordings of American Songbook. Ella's incredible voice may have been the only up to this task - a first complete draft of the American Songbook. This collection of fifty-eight songs of the Gershwins was the last installment of her "songbooks." It is beautiful collection of songs, with Ella's voice accompanied by a talented, rich orchestra.

I see Gershwin and Fitzgerald and I’m happy.

I got rhythm was amazing. The entire album was soothing and was great background music while I worked.

A wonderful compilation to re-introduce you to a queen of jazz that is still timeless today.

What an instrument. Ella gets all the stars. Marked down for some dated lyrics and over the top, stifling instrumentation. I wish they’d picked Ella & Louis.

I mean, c'mon, it's the Queen of Jazz. A timeless voice that only gets better with more listens.

Chick can sing.

What a voice

classic. slow. beautiful

After the first few songs, I was ready to give this album a 5 if it kept up the pace all the way through. And while you *could* say that it did, towards the second half of the album all the songs start to blend together, and there is very litte that makes each song unique. That's not to say that any of the songs are bad though, Ella's voice in undeniably one of the greatest of all time, and she really showcases that on every song. The strings sound great, and every instrument feels like it makes a worthy contribution. And I have to add, some of the lyrics on "Embraceable You" certainly are questionable, at least by today's standards. I wasn't alive in 1959 so maybe back then that was completely normal, I don't know.

Blind album. Great voice but it carries the album which kind of drags in my personal opinion. Thats what Ella is known for though.... The back songs needs to be just as prominent as the vocals in my personal opinion. It's all repetitive and drags on. It all sounds the same and I just was not into it.

Ella Fitzgerald's \"The Gershwin Songbook\" is a timeless classic that showcases her unmatched vocal prowess and interpretive skills. The album features Fitzgerald's enchanting renditions of George and Ira Gershwin's most beloved songs, including \"Summertime,\" \"Embraceable You,\" and \"I Got Rhythm.\" Fitzgerald's voice is rich, warm, and full of emotion, effortlessly gliding through each melody with grace and precision. The arrangements are lush and vibrant, perfectly complementing Fitzgerald's vocals. While some may find the album's focus on traditional jazz standards to be somewhat predictable, Fitzgerald's masterful delivery and the timeless quality of the songs themselves ensure that \"The Gershwin Songbook\" remains a captivating listening experience for fans of jazz and vocal music alike. 4/5

she is like butttttaahhhhhhh Loved this

That was a lot of songs

So Good.

not usually in my rotation but I love Ella's voice

Great for extended background music, or perhaps a Sunday morning. There are some classics in here.

Ella Fitzgerald is fantastic but I just don't really dig this type / age of music - or 3 hours. I guess if I have to listen to 1959 she's as good as any who was doing it then. I was reading reviews and saw this one which I've now cut and pasted. Perfect review. --- With all due respect to the legendary Ella Fitzgerald, I don’t have the time or patience to listen to a three and a half hour box set of Gershwin songs. I’m not gonna sit here and say, “oh my god, this is so amazing. What a landmark record”, just because Ella Fitzgerald is a legend. I hated this record. This type of music bores the ever-loving shit out of me. The truth is, I’ve got about 40 minutes of tolerance for most music that was recorded before 1965. I know, I’m a horrible close minded human being; the poster boy for everything that’s wrong with modern society. I see the value in it, I can appreciate Fitzgerald’s talent…she has an absolutely beautiful voice and the arrangements are wonderful. In short bursts, it’s kind of enjoyable to me. After about 10 songs, though, it becomes torturous. Is it a bad record because of that? No, certainly not. I’m not anywhere near that narcissistic. This just isn’t for me. I wish I could like music like this, I wish I could see what other people see in it. I wish I could put this on, have a cup of coffee and do the Sunday NYT crossword puzzle, without my skeleton attempting to separate from my flesh. I did learn one thing listening to this record, though. The “po-tay-to / po-tah-to” song was written by Gershwin…Saving that in the old memory bank for trivia night. Because I made no attempt to finish this collection, I’m defaulting to site consensus on this. The site ranks it a 3.62, so I’ll give it a 3.

Lovely. Calm.

It’s a 5. Way too long, but I think it’s endearing here. Like buying the fast and furious saga. Long, but it’s a lot of a good thing

Interesting that most of the criticisms of this album on here reference the length but the current Spotify link pulls a shorter compilation album. I agree with many reviewers that a best of compilation album is not very fair and decided to click over to the 3 hour original. As you can see from my other reviews, I am predisposed to dislike albums much over an hour long and this definitely fits the "way too long" bill. Also, I usually take points off for extensive use of covers, and this is essentially a cover album. At the same time, if aliens came down from space and we needed had to show them what music is and wanted to be sure it wouldn't get us obliterated, we'd have to pick Ella Fitzgerald. Sure, it's old and it's jazz and that's not a lot of people's thing, but she has the greatest voice to ever exist. 5s for all 3 hours!

Wonderful singing. Great arrangements. Nice music. But George is a better composer than Ira is a lyricist. To me, the lyrics often seem forced, and in an effort to be clever they just come off as trite. I kept finding myself distracted from the music because the lyrics’ banality would get in the way.

Not my thing. Very showtuney and lots of instrumentation that distracts from Ella's voice, which is why I'd want to listen to this.

Jazz, Swing, 1959 -> 3

Man I love Ella's voice, but I hate anything after doing it for 3 hours straight. 5 stars for quality, dropped to 4 for unreasonable length.

Lovely because it’s Ella Fitzgerald!

3.5

I feel like there’s a disconnect between the lost and the generator here. I’m assuming the list wants me to listen to the 3+ hour box set but the generator sent me to a 50 minute best of which I feel isn’t really in the spirit of this list but I was already 40 minutes in by the time I realized there was a discrepancy and didn’t wanna try to restart with the long one, so this is a review of just the hits. Ella Fitzgerald has a great voice and it’s instantly disarming and relaxing to listen to. Feels like a nice cozy blanket or a warm crackling fire in the background with great orchestral arrangements to match.

This is just beautiful, this is the exact kind of jazz that i would listen without any trouble. The voice of Ella Fitzgerald is such an amazing thing, i love it, but i think that 3 and a half hours of this is a bit too much for me. Besides that this album is really, really great.

Great voice - would put on to seem sophisticated at a dinner party. Doesn't give me the "feels" though.

Ella's voice is enchanting. And the songbook is a classic. Two thumbs up!

Struggling to decide between 4 stars and 3 stars, so I gusss it's another 3.5. Ella's voice has become synonymous with jazz. If you think of jazz with a vocalist, you're automatically thinking of her voice. It's always a pleasure to listen to her

Stunning voice and enjoyable compositions.

Not my style 2/10

Pure talent

Ella has a beautiful voice.

Ella is the GOAT - no further comments 🫡

I know I’m down on all the songwriters from the 50s and 60s whose songs these black women had to sing. I mean, taste was different, and reality was reality and I took enough American studies and African-American literature courses in university to recognize the power and revolution still possible from within the constraints of one’s time. but the songs feel me with sadness as much for the unrealized potential of Ella on her own, singing outside these boxes, as I am for the Gershwin heartbreaks she’s giving so much life to. Time was, I suppose, and I certainly hope time will be again, someday.

I have a lot of love for Ella Fitzgerald and she’s a regular in my house to get the morning going. I hadn’t listened to this album and wanted to love it, but show tunes always remind me of the drama club kids who made the drama class I would have otherwise found delight in absolutely suck and I can’t help but have those animus feelings stirred listening to this, hence the markdown.

Lovely voice but felt myself tuning out.

So, the version I linked to was only 45 minutes. I realized after seeing some other reviews mentioning it going on for hours that I listened to "the very best of" version. I'm sticking to that. While it's wonderful to hear Ella sing, I don't feel that she meshed with Gershwin. Probably an unpopular opinion considering this albums stature. There are several great songs, but most of them I know another version that I like better. Ella sounds great though. I like Ella, I like George, but this mix isn't working for me. I'm not going to come back to this, but I wouldn't object to hearing it again.

This album sounds like classical Hollywood and Christmas specials. Favourite track: Love Is Here To Stay.

Okay so I really didn’t know who Ella Fitzgerald was but it turns out she’s like.. super versatile Gershwin Songbook is deff more pop heavy than some of her jazzier stuff, but this is like peak pop music Upon seeing the full compilation, I ended up rolling with the 44 min version, and although it’s shorter than the full sound book, I was a bit overwhelmed as is. Regardless, this album was so calming in a time where I’m stressed out to the gills. Samuel gonna bash for being Bambi Esque music but it’s a banger

This Ella is my queen I agree with the top review though there are better compilations that have seemingly been left our and I could honestly go for 3 more hours of this Ella voice and I understand the moral qualms with this pick but ALAS good music all the same and I think Ella American songbook is more iconic but this might be better. I would give this a 5 but I will give it a 4 in protest

Generally boring to me

I can appreciate the songwriting and quality of voice but the album turns my stomach, reminding me of old, dead people dark rooms and horrible wallpaper.

It's good

American songbook jazz. Miss Ella Fitzgerald was a national treasure. Her tone is so pure and rich and her phrasing so phenomenal that she can elevate any song. The Gershwin songbook is classic (though I'm partial to Richard Rogers myself) and this record is a wonderful example of the entire genre.

Never a bad day when listening to Lady Ella. She had an amazing singing voice and way to turn a tune.

so joyful. takes my heart out for a walk in the park.

Really enjoyed this! So cool that music as old as the 50s can be this timeless. Ella's vocals are powerful and controlled, combined over Gershwin (and other classical artists/pianists I'm not sure?) orchestration I think just ensures this will always be a classic. At this point in time it's just two classics colliding which makes for a great listen.

Legendary songbook, sung by the only one I could listent to all day, forever and ever.

I made it to track four, "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off", and I happily obliged. 👎👎

Cool

rubbish not my thing at all

Wow, this is Ella at her best! I'm loving it! She is perfect, the orchestra is stellar! I wrote a longer review and saved it, but it didn't save. Bummer. I don't have time today to recreate it. Summary: Another for 10 stars.

Hey not bad. Not my cup of tea but still enjoyable

Of course beautiful soulful bluesy voice.

Great bluesy album

Meh

Long. Could be very corny.

Really good album!

Fabulous!!

I didn’t think I would possibly make it through three hours, but turns out it’s impossible to turn off the perfect voice. When the album was done I didn’t know what else to do but start it over. Maybe it was just the right time/right place, but it was an absolute pleasure to listen to this. If this one seems daunting, at least listen to the first section.

Goid

Wow, what a voice!

LIKE: The Man I Love RECOGNISE: -

Was a little intimidated by the 3+ hour run time, but it's absolutely worth it. Every song is fun and soothing, sweet and a little goofy

I thought this was ok, just not really my thing. She was a good singer, but I was always more into Billie Holiday.

I ain't reading all that. I'm happy for u tho. Or sorry that happened. I don't care how good Ella's voice is, this kind of music is like spending eternity in a purgatory modeled as an infinite department store.

There's a lot here. Very impressed and surprised to like this a lot more that I was expecting to. Will listen to more of this and again in the future.

not really for me

It's a slow sleepy album but her voice is so good

I couldn’t listen to all of it ( was this a quintuple album?). But, Ella has a wonderful voice and there was little degradation for the recordings). Four stars

I mean, how can you not enjoy this? Ella's voice is amazing, and the arrangements are pure class.

It’s good, it’s chill, she’s great. But it’s not the kind of thing I’d listen to often.

One to return to!

I’m sorry, but my attention span no longer lasts 3h59

I mean, how much do I need to write? It’s Ella. It’s the Gershwin songbook. What more could you ask for out of a vocal jazz album? This was wonderful. And especially refreshing after listening to John Zorn yesterday. She truly is one of the greats. It’s so easy to just feel immersed in her work. The emotion conveyed through her voice, the control she has over it. It’s wonderful and impressive. Just a lovely time. Really cannot recommend it enough. Five stars. Standout tracks: I Got Rhythm, The Man I Love, Love is Here to Stay, A Foggy Day, Someone to Watch Over Me, Fascinating Rhythm, They Can’t Take That Away From Me Side note: in reading other reviews before posting mine, I see that there’s a version of this that is 3+ hours. Yeah, will not be seeking that out, thanks. The link led me to “The Very Best of,” that’s the album cover on the website, so that’s what I listened to.

probably one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard

Sindre: - Alt for langt - For generic - Få gode sanger + Et par bangers Ella Fitzgerald Andreas (og sindre) : -veldig mye like sanger -For mye simpe etter random dude +passer bra til fancy vin middag

7.8

naja..

Ella is great but nobody needs 3 hours of this

She’s got dobedobapdobebo, who could ask for anything more? Annunciates so well you’d be able to hear it if you were deaf. Beautiful tone. Definitely have heard her influence in other music. Fiona Apple comes to mind for someone more recent. The musical atmosphere created in A Foggy Day is great. Her lower register is so solid and clear but her higher notes are so pretty and moving, I want more of them. She’s impressive!

Średnie, te same instrumenty w każdym utworze, przez to trochę nudne (może dlatego że nie słucham jazzu). Jak dla mnie nic się szczególnie nie wyróżnia w tej składance

Day 1 and off to a great start with this wonderful album

It was really good and I liked it

Great voice. Great music. Great women. Her music will always be great, throughout history.